RESUMO
Bloodstains examination is required in many fields in medicolegal practice. This study was carried out to discriminate between antemortem [AM] andpostmortem [PM] bloodstains. The method used depended on the determination ofthe level of human myoglobin [by radioimmunoassay] as well as the levels ofadenosine triphosphate [ATP], xanthine and uracil [by HPLC] in thebloodstains. The study revealed a highly statistically significant elevationof myoglobin levels in PM than AM bloodstains. ATP was found in highconcentrations in all AM bloodstain samples and could not be detected in anyof the PM bloodstain ones. On the other hand, xanthine and uracil werepresent in considerable concentrations in all the PM bloodstain samples andwere not detected in any of the AM bloodstain ones. These results wereindependent of the age of the stain, the postmortem interval and the cause ofdeath. It was suggested that the determination of the above-mentionedparameters could help in the discrimination between antemortem and postmortembloodstains in medicolegal practice